Inspirit Energy Regulatory News (INSP)

8 Oct 2007 07:00

Inspace Plc08 October 2007 Press Release 8 October 2007 Inspace plc ("Inspace" or "the Company") Preferred Development Partner - Dee Park, Reading Further to the announcement on 17 September 2007, Inspace plc (AIM:INSP), one ofthe UK's leading specialist service providers to the social and affordablehousing market, confirms that its status as a preferred development partner forthe regeneration of the Dee Park estate has been ratified by Reading BoroughCouncil after a two year selection process. Dee Park represents the largestever housing regeneration scheme handled by the Company and is worth anestimated £140 million. Inspace will work in joint venture with CatalystHousing Group, a leading London-based RSL (together called the 'Dee ParkPartnership'). Dee Park estate's regeneration will see Inspace replace existing housing stockby building 763 new homes of mixed tenure, along with a new commercial centre,community centre and primary school, plus roads and infrastructure. The newhomes will include 482 for private sale and 281 for affordable rent including asheltered block providing 60 homes for the elderly. The development will bebuilt in three phases, with work starting on site in late 2008 and completed by2017. The regeneration combines Inspace's social and affordable housing divisions,with all construction work carried out by Inspace Partnerships, while privatedevelopment arm Inspace Homes will lead the process of selling the 482 privatehomes in a joint venture with Catalyst Housing Group, which also becomeslandlord for the affordable rent homes. Key sustainable features on the estate include installing a bio mass plant thatwill supply heating to the sheltered block, solar water heating for allaffordable homes and a wind turbine providing renewable energy for the primaryschool. Dee Park is the latest in a series of major estate regenerations that Inspaceand Catalyst have successfully carried out together. In the mid-90s, theytransformed the Blackbird Leys estate in Oxford and are currently in the finalstages of a regeneration programme to provide over 600 homes in Neasden, NorthLondon. Chris Durkin, the Chief Operating Officer of Inspace's social and affordablehousing divisions, said: "Dee Park is a good example of Inspace's ability tobring its skill sets together to carry out major regeneration projects combiningprivate development with homes for affordable rent. We see this as an importantopportunity to further establish our credentials in the growth market to provideaffordable housing" - Ends - For further information:Inspace plcAndrew Telfer, Chief Financial Officer Tel: +44 (0) 1462 678 910andrew.telfer@inspace.co.uk www.inspace.co.uk Dresdner KleinwortChristian Littlewood Tel: +44 (0) 20 7623 8000 Media enquiries:AbchurchHenry Harrison-Topham Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7702henry.ht@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com Notes to editors Inspace plc is a property based services group, and one of the UK's leadingspecialist service providers to the social and affordable housing market.Inspace has three complementary areas of activity: social housing, affordablehousing and corporate assets. Social Housing - creating and maintaining sustainable homes The division is one of the UK's leading specialist service providers to socialhousing landlords through long term framework contracts. Its services comprisemajor 'repair and maintenance', 'stock reinvestment' and new build programmesfor local authorities, Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMO) andRegistered Social Landlords (RSLs). Total spending on social housing is currently around £14 billion per annum, ofwhich around £10.3 billion is spent on repair, maintenance and improvement. Ofthis, £4 billion is spent on ongoing repair and maintenance, with the remaining£6 billion being spent on capital projects such as major refurbishment andimprovement. This includes a contribution of between £1 billion and £2 billion ayear from the Decent Homes initiative. The provision of new housing, which iscurrently running at around 35,000 units a year, adds a further £3.5 billion tothis sum. Affordable Housing - developing integrated communities The affordable housing division specialises in the provision of low cost homesfor sale in partnership with RSLs, usually alongside social housing built by theSocial Housing division, as part of more extensive mixed tenure schemes. It hasalready established a number of joint venture companies with RSLs and throughits involvement in the Key London Alliance consortium, has been appointed toprovide mixed tenure developments under the Government's London Wide Initiative. Corporate Assets - improving and maintaining public and private real estate The corporate assets division provides a comprehensive repair, maintenance,capital works and interior design service across public and private sectornon-residential real estate. It delivers 24/7 integrated maintenance servicesacross England, Scotland and Wales through its national network of branches and'home based' mobile engineers. Its specialist design-led service offerscustomers an integrated interior design, installation and furnishing 'one stop'solution. Further information on Inspace can be found at www.inspace.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange